21st Annual Cardboard Canoe Race

Students at Cedarville University have been competing in cardboard canoe races for the past 20 years to launch Homecoming Weekend. This year, the competition will be held on Cedar Lake on Friday, Oct. 3 at 3 p.m.

The cardboard canoe tradition started as a class assignment for engineering students but it has evolved to include students from all different majors. Each boat is made from 40 feet of cardboard and 100 meters of packaging tape. The goal is to travel from the northern to the southern part of the lake without sinking. The winning team is the group that successfully reaches the goal in the shortest period of time.

For engineering students, who make up the largest number of boaters, they will be graded on their design, distance traveled and the time it took to go across the lake. The winning engineering team will win a digital-display caliper, a high quality engineering tool. The champion out of other departments will win the Cardboard Canoe Race trophy to display for a year.

“Its uniqueness is important to us,” said Bob Chasnov, Ph.D., P.E., senior professor and dean of the school of engineering and computer science. “By using cardboard and packing tape, the students are challenged to succeed at something they’ve never done before.”

The event is free to the public as a part of Cedarville’s homecoming activities.

Located in southwest Ohio, Cedarville University is an accredited, Christ-centered, Baptist institution with an enrollment of 3,620 undergraduate, graduate and online students in more than 100 areas of study. Founded in 1887, Cedarville is recognized nationally for its authentic Christian community, rigorous academic programs, strong graduation and retention rates, accredited professional and health science offerings and leading student satisfaction ratings.